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Tourists in Europe to walk in Peter the Great’s footsteps

The tour will be called Peter’s Path, or the Austrian imprint of Peter the Great, and will be launched in 2017 as part of the Russian-Austrian cultural exchange year
Tourists take pictures in front of the portrait of Peter the Grea in St. Petersburg EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV
Tourists take pictures in front of the portrait of Peter the Grea in St. Petersburg
© EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

ST.PETERSBURG, June 10. /TASS/. Russia will join forces with France and Austria to re-create Peter the Great’s journey, Deputy Culture Minister Alla Manilova told TASS on Friday at the 8th International Peter the Great Congress in St. Petersburg.

The tour will be called Peter’s Path, or the Austrian imprint of Peter the Great, and will be launched in 2017 as part of the Russian-Austrian cultural exchange year.

According to Manilova, the idea is to have round trips from Russia to Austria, France and the Netherlands. Peter the Great visited France in 1717 travelling to Paris, where he met with King Louis XV. There he studied the royal residences of Versailles and Marly, and went on to borrow those architectural styles for his palaces, Peterhof and Strelna. Twenty years earlier, in 1698, he had visited Austria and the Netherlands, as part of his Great Embassy project. That trip had a great impact on Russian architectural styles, which can clearly be seen in St. Petersburg.

The new tourist programs, says Manilova, could get the support of the Council of Europe. "The Council has eyed putting Russia on its map of Europe’s cultural routes. At present, tourism is developing in Russia and the Council of Europe is closely watching how we move forward. Moreover, they believe that we need to step up our participation," she said.